Donald Trump: One Year Later

As Donald Trump has been in office for a little over a year now, and with the campaign trail behind him, the nation has been able to watch Trump put his policy into action. Despite his heavily criticized presidency and an approval rating of under 40% as declared by The Huffington Post, President Trump has managed to have quite a historic first year.

Trump is the first president in over 50 years to decrease the national debt by a margin of 1%. Jack Kerwick, Town Hall Columnist, credits Trump with what until recently has been “record-breaking Stock Market prices.” What else should we all have expected? He is a world-renowned businessman, and his impact on our currently booming economy should not surprise us. In addition, unemployment is down to a rate of 4.1%, as Trump has helped to create over tens of thousands of jobs, and it is also noteworthy that unemployment rates for African Americans and Hispanics are at historically low rates as well.

However, other ways in which President Trump has held his presidency have been disappointing. For one thing, the way in which Trump uses his platform on Twitter is problematic. I do not believe a president should send out such divisive and ridiculous tweets. Examples even stem from beyond Twitter, such as his classification of third world countries like Haiti and African countries using a derogatory term. His response to the hurricane that hit Puerto Rico was disappointing to say the least. It was not presidential.

According to Tom O’Connor of Newsweek, most Americans disagree with Trump’s handling with North Korea and are opposed to building a wall on the border. A poll from Harvard University’s Center for American Political Studies and market research firm showed that 57% of Americans disapproved of Trump’s leadership. Another Harvard poll showed that 43% of Americans are backing impeachment of President Trump following investigations into Russia’s alleged collusion in the outcome of the 2016 elections.

Trump will not win a war with the media, gain support from independents, or get Democrats to switch over for re-elections, but voting for him was like picking the lesser of two evils. I supported him over Hillary, because his economic policies seemed better. I was all for draining the swamp and felt that Clinton would not bring about much change. Trump puts America first, as seen when he has backed us out of some very unfavorable trade deals.

Regarding Trump’s presidency so far, Eastern Nazarene Senior Gabie Schmidt said, “In my opinion, Trump is doing a phenomenal job for his first year. The tax cuts are great for middle class Americans, and the tax cuts on businesses will only help encourage growth and more jobs. He’s also reducing the national debt which is a great thing, and he’s reduced a lot of business regulations. Unemployment is at a historic low. Also, it looks like he’s finally going to be a president that tackles the illegal immigration crisis. He’s tackled a lot for his first year, so I would give him a double thumbs up.”

Fellow ENC Freshman Nick Kennedy expressed similar sentiments saying, “He’s a good president, but [has] a terrible personality. The way he conducts himself is not like what we’ve seen in the past. Our last president was much more well-spoken.”

So far, it seems that Trump has implemented good policies, but has revealed a terrible personality. Trump’s lack of political correctness will influence his re-election, but we have yet to see exactly how.

Michael is a Junior at Eastern Nazarene College, majoring in Communication Arts and minoring in Psychology. This is his second semester working with the Veritas, and he also writes for a basketball blog called FadawayWorld.org.